Pantheon

Streaming services are the de facto platform for music today, and brands like Spotify have two audiences: their subscribers and the artists whose music they stream. To celebrate and promote Spotify’s hugely influential Rap Caviar playlist, it was important for the brand to partner with its top artists for a genuine collaboration.

SpecialGuest and Spotify decided to build a modern-day pantheon, creating life-size statues of RapCaviar’s top three artists of 2017—Metro Boomin, SZA, and 21 Savage—based on the aesthetic cues of Greco-Roman statues.

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We worked with Spotify to make sure the tone of Pantheon captured the Rap Caviar brand, the essence of each artist, and a few subtle winks to its loyal audience: Metro Boomin held a flute in one final jest about the flute sample in “Mask Off,” and 21 Savage sat atop 8 M’s in reference to his $8 million worth that ICE couldn’t touch after arresting him in 2019.

The 3D-printed statues were unveiled at the Brooklyn Museum. The idea was to make the breakthrough artists feel larger than life and immortal. An accompanying video was directed by hip-hop’s most in-demand auteur, Director X.

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Pantheon exceeded Spotify’s goals of awareness and engagement. It had coverage in more than 20 outlets and saw a 700 percent spike in saves on Instagram.